These are the headlines we are tracking for you in this episode of On the News Line:

German arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Over the past few years, the European governments have been grappling with the worst refugee crisis since world war two. The continent witnessed an influx of asylum seekers who were mostly fleeing the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. And Germany was one of the countries that received over one million refugees. The German Chancellor’s so-called open-door policy drew positive reactions from rights groups while it earned her a firestorm of rebukes at home when the country was struck by several terrorist attacks blamed on refugees. In September 2016, Angela Merkel regretted her handling of the refugee crisis after her party suffered a disastrous setback in Berlin state election.

Awamiyah crackdown

Wasteland... that is a visitor's first impression of this town in Saudi Arabia 's eastern province... one neighborhood of Awamiyah has borne the brunt of the Saudi crackdown: al-Musawara has been leveled since the regime forces began an assault on the Shia populated town days ago. A number of people have been killed. The international community has been dead silent on the rights violations in the town which by some is seen as amounting to genocide. There has also been a media blackout in the west regarding the issue.